UFO Landing Site

This mission type is nearly identical to UFO Crash Sites. Other than the method of acquisition and a decreased window of opportunity to respond, all of the alien ship'screw and equipment are intact at the start of the mission.

This mission type is available at any stage of the game, as part of the "random event pool" which also includes UFO detection and city-based missions. Unlike a crash site mission, it doesn't require the interception of enemy craft; the Skyranger and strike team can be sent directly to the UFO. If XCOM has built the Hyperwave Relay facility, information concerning the crew size and species aboard the ship is available, a useful tool when planning squad configurations and loadouts.

When a UFO landing event is detected, XCOM has 30 hours to start the mission before it is considered to be ignored and is no longer available.

UFO Landing Site missions take place in rural areas without civilians. The random map pool contains 8 maps, but the selection is limited to only one of two maps for each type of enemy craft (above). The layout of the enemy ships is fixed.

The Skyranger lands at a distance from the enemy UFO and the ground team is required to make its way to the UFO on foot. There are enemy forces scattered throughout the area, and some of the alien units often remain inside the UFO.

If the alien craft is a small ship, it is likely that there will be alien forces scattered throughout the area. Often, some of them will roam the map. Due to this, it is advisable to progress through the area carefully. Soldiers should always keep to cover, try to keep to full cover if possible, and be able to use Overwatch every turn.

On big alien ships, distinguished by a rectangular or otherwise non-rounded shape, most of the enemy force often reside within the craft, sometimes roaming the ship. It is best to progress through the ship carefully, with minimal movement and good positioning. There are many open areas within these ships, and taking a position that allows to see through the whole area carries a risk of making the soldier visible to every enemy group within the area, thus alerting them. Due to this, it is advisable, perhaps counterintuitively, to keep positions that allow the soldiers to watch each other's back and open reaction fire when an enemy approaches any team member, but at the same time avoid having too good visibility into the areas that have not been scouted yet.